Tribes plan renewable energy projects with help of $7.8M in federal funds

Tribes across the nation are investing in renewable energy projects in their communities with the help of $7.8 million in federal funds.

The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe secured $973,000 from the Department of Energy as part of the initiative. The tribe will chip in $1 million of its own funds for a 1 megawatt solar array that will power homes and tribal buildings on the reservation in Colorado.

“It’s great news. Some of this field is going to stop growing hay and start growing electricity for the community,” Scott Clow, the tribe's environmental director, told The Cortez Journal.

“These energy development and efficiency projects will provide economic benefits to American Indian tribes and Alaskan Native villages for many years to come," William Bradford., the director of the office, said in a press release.